Donald Glover’s not interested in being “the next Ron Howard”

Donald Glover with his 2016 Critics Choice Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, for “Atlanta”: Robby Klein/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Atlanta creator and star Donald Glover talks about his legacy in this week’s The Hollywood Reporter cover story, and, among other things, reveals why he doesn’t want to be the next Ron Howard.

Glover, who will play Lando Calrissian in the upcoming Han Solo film, directed by Howard, says, “I don’t want to be the next Ron Howard or the next anybody else,” explaining, “My job is to do what Ron could have never done.”

Howard, replaced directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller who split over creative differences with the studio, Lucasfilm, and Glover admits that it left him feeling a bit intimidated.

“Ron is such a legend, and he knows exactly what the vision for what he is doing is … [but Phil and Chris] hired us, so you sort of feel like, ‘I know I’m not your first choice …’ And you worry about that,” he tells THR.

“I feel like I was the baby in the divorce, or the youngest child,” he adds. “The oldest child is like, ‘We know what’s happening, but we are keeping you out of it.’ And I’m just like, ‘Was that scene good? How did you feel?’”

Glover was even more tight-lipped when discussing Atlanta‘s upcoming second season, only offering, “I don’t want to go into season two [with the mindset of] ‘Enough people liked it so just keep those people,’ because then you begin to give your audience a methadone drip of bull**** that keeps them happy as opposed to, ‘We did something controversial and more people were interested.’”

Both season two of Atlanta and the as yet untitled Han Solo movie are set to debut in 2018.